A Night to Try and Remember
by JaydenNara
Summary: A night of drinking after his best friend cancels their plans leads Naruto to a night he just can't remember. Thankfully his friends are there the next morning to fill in the blanks and sort out who the person in bed with him is before Sasuke shows up. SN
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everybody! I know I'm suppose to be working on This is Not a Game, but I need an outlet for when I'm stuck on it, so this was born. There will be a new chapter of TINAG next week, but for now, here's something comedic to read.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, obviously. For those wondering, yes this story is based on an episode of How I Meet Your Mother, which I also don't own. Enjoy!**

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><p><em><strong>7:23 Friday Night<strong>_

"It's time to party!" yelled a tan brunet bursting through the doors of a local pub, grinning like a madman. The bartender looked up briefly to smile at the regular occurrence as the brunet's friends entered their favourite bar behind him in a much more subdued manner.

The Will of Fire pub was a popular hangout for students attending Konoha University or those just looking for a good time. The beer was cheap, the music was good, and there were plenty of people to try your luck with and get shot down by.

"First rounds' on Shika!" the brunet announced, clapping his hand on his roommates' shoulder and giving a hearty squeeze. He had no real sympathy for the man, since the Nara had brought it on himself. For a genius, the raven haired man had his moments of pure idiocy, and betting against their third roommate was always a bad idea.

On his way to becoming the greatest vet the city had ever seen, Inuzuka Kiba was a university student who'd just finished his third year finals, and was ready for a night of mischief and mayhem with his roommates, Uzumaki Naruto and Nara Shikamaru. The three friends had grown up together, attending the same elementary, middle, and high school along with a few of their other friends. Now they shared their three bedroom apartment in the building across the street from their favourite pub, and went to the same University.

Naruto was working his way towards a degree in child psychology on a scholarship he didn't know his best friend had created just for him. Shikamaru, on the other hand, was just taking random courses, and still undeclared after three years of school with no signs of committing. The only reason the Nara had gotten away with doing absolutely nothing this long was because of his family name and money.

The large group of friends that had tagged along with the three roommates decided to party the night away in the attempt to cheer up an unusually depressed Naruto. Originally, the blond student had made plans to catch up with his best friend, playing video games, watching movies, and anything else the other man would have wanted to do, but because of reasons beyond his control, the night had been called off. Naruto hadn't taken the news well, scaring his friends when he'd turned down free ramen. Tonight had been something he had been looking forward to since the proposition two weeks ago, even buying a small carton of cherry tomatoes he was sure would go to waste now.

"Troublesome," muttered Shikamaru, scratching the back of his head just below his spiky pony tail, and shrugging the tan hand off his shoulder before he shuffled over to the bar.

The raven haired student should have known better than to bet whether or not Naruto could convince their friend Neji that the psychotic redhead, often seen around campus, liked him and to ask him out. Shikamaru lost with an epic performance from Naruto, forcing him to pay for a round of drinks the next night they all went out. Why the genius had bet against Naruto no one knew, as his blond roommate had yet to lose due to his unparalleled luck. What the lazy genius Nara failed to take into consideration was the fact that Naruto knew the so-called psychotic redhead. The mans' name was Gaara, and Naruto already knew that Gaara had been crushing on Neji for some time now, and often stalked him around the school grounds despite the fact he didn't attend the school.

Making their way over to their favourite booth, the group of six friends took a seat while Shikamaru went for drinks. The booth was situated in the back corner, away from the crowd, but still close to the bar. The overstuffed red seats had seen better days, and the large dark mahogany table may have looked a little grubby under the single, three bulb silver lamp swinging above, but it was theirs, even had their name on it.

First to slide in was Haruno Sakura, taking her place against the wall in the rounded booth, her roommate Yamanaka Ino claiming the spot on her right. Both women were students as well, also having grown up with Naruto and his roommates. Ino was a botany major, Sakura on the other hand was pre-med.

Taking the place to Ino's right, sitting on the edge, was Sai. Not much was known about the awkward artist. Naruto had caught him painting him one day. After talking for hours, he had invited Sai to hang out with his friends, and the older man had been with them ever since. Sai was socially inept, often insulting people without meaning to, or was unable to grasp social conventions.

Akimichi Chouji squished into the spot next to Sakura. The aspiring chef attended a local culinary school, as well as worked part time at his family's restaurant. He and Shikamaru had been best friends almost since birth.

A few of their other friends hadn't been able to join them. Though in Aburame Shino's case, he just didn't want to go out. Whereas cousins, Hyuuga Neji and Hinata had been coerced into attending a business party hosted by the well respected Uchiha family in hopes of building better connections among Konoha's elite. Much to his uncles' dismay, Neji had even taken along his new boyfriend.

Their unique friend Rock Lee, on the other hand, had set out with his uncle on some sort of spiritual retreat into the wilderness. People were taking bets on whether or not they came back in the allotted time, or ended up running wild. Some didn't think they'd come back at all.

Naruto was pushed into the booth by an overexcited Kiba, who followed him in. Soon after Shikamaru returned, the server behind him set seven pints on the table in front of them. He managed to steal the spot on the end next to Kiba, effectively blocking the bouncing man in.

"I can't believe Sasuke ditched me to go to some uppity party with his brother," mumbled the blue eyed blond bombshell known as Naruto. He sunk further into his depression as he thought of his best friend, Uchiha Sasuke.

Much to his dismay, the raven haired male had been dragged to a company party by his older brother, Uchiha Itachi, forcing him to break his plans with Naruto. He knew Naruto had been looking forward to their night, he had to, but was promising himself he would make it up to the blond.

Itachi was the CEO and president of Sharingan, a multi-million dollar company. His little brother, Sasuke, was the VP and Itachi's favourite source of entertainment. The horrible and traumatizing things Itachi put his brother through in the name of entertainment often had Naruto storming the Sharingan headquarters and knocking down the CEO's door in Sasuke's defense, not that the youngest Uchiha needed it. Despite the unconventional relationship between the two siblings, Itachi and Sasuke were close, and Sasuke never went down without a fight, aided by Naruto or not.

Naruto and Sasuke had been friends since elementary school. Naruto had been an orphan taken in by a family friend and his lover, while Sasuke was the youngest son of the business tycoon, Uchiha Fugaku. They'd met their first day of kindergarten.

Naruto had been playing with a stuffed frog when Sasuke had been brought in by his mother Mikoto. After a stern warning to play nicely with the other kids, Sasuke had wandered around the room until his eyes fell on the little blond angel playing in the corner.

Walking over, he stood and watched the younger boy, gasping in shock when shocking blue eyes looked up and met his gaze, a broad smile stretching over the tanned face. With that simple act, Naruto had sealed his fate. Sasuke immediately grabbed the stuffed animal and threw it across the room. His mother and teacher watched in horror as it landed at their feet.

Before the blond could open his mouth to protest, the little raven had knelt down and pulled Naruto into a tight hug, declaring the boy 'mine'. In return, the Uzumaki had wrapped his arms around Sasuke and giggled. They had been best friends ever since.

"I can't believe you're still friends with that bastard after all these years," Kiba exclaimed. "You two have been inseparable since I met you, and that was twelve years ago, but you guys knew each other before that."

"Yeah, we've been together since we were five." Naruto smiled softly as he downed half of his drink. "We don't get to see each other enough anymore, but he's still my best friend. I know you guys don't understand, you only see his cold exterior, but he means the world to me." He rubbed his eyes tiredly before they flew open in a rage. "Tonight was supposed to be our night to chill," he shouted, slamming his hands down on the table, the drinks all shaking. "But of course, his dick of a brother dragged him out to some company party, forcing him to cancel our plans." He cursed Itachi under his breath, elbowing a snickering Kiba in the ribs.

"Ow," the Inuzuka whined. "What the fuck man."

"I always thought Itachi was really nice," Sakura said. "And super hot and sexy," she added dreamily. "I mean, he's no Sasuke-kun, but still."

Sakura and Ino swooned over the sexiness of Uchiha Sasuke, their eyes glazing over with a faraway dreamy look. "Sasuke-kun," they sighed in unison.

Shikamaru snorted into his drink, while the rest of the table rolled their eyes at the familiar behaviour. The two girls were infatuated with the youngest Uchiha, but he wouldn't give them the time of day, let alone entertain the idea of dating them. After years of rejection, one would think they'd give up, but both still entertained ideas of being the one to catch his attention.

Sasuke wasn't very social in the best of circumstances. In fact, most of the time he was downright arrogant and rude to those around him, claiming everyone one around him was an idiot and not worth his time. He tolerated his friends, having no qualms when it came to telling someone to 'fuck off' - politely or not. In fact, the only person he truly tolerated in any situation was Naruto. The blond student could be screaming his head off and Sasuke would only smirk contentedly.

"Sasuke," Naruto murmured sadly, staring into the bottom of his glass. "Don't get me wrong, I love Itachi. He's like a brother to me, but tonight he went too far. He loves to torture Sasuke. I suppose it's his job, big brother and all, but it was our night. Sasuke and I haven't seen each other in over a month. A month!" he exclaimed again for effect, throwing his hands up in the air. "We've both been super busy with finals and mergers and what not. We'd planned this out to perfectly match our schedules when his deal finally went through, and I finished exams." He took a large swig of the drink in front of him. "I miss him." The blonds shoulders slumped, and his usual smile fell.

The group saw the unshed tears glittering in the bright azure eyes. Even a blind man could clearly see that the blond man was more depressed than he was letting on.

"I'm going to get another drink," claimed Kiba, before chugging the last of his beer. "Want one Naruto?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure."

"Cheer up Naruto," Kiba said climbing over Shikamaru. "That bastard isn't worth you ruining your night." He ground down on his roommates lap with a wink, then scrambled off and headed to the bar before anyone could notice.

Letting out a shaky breath, Shikamaru muttered to himself about the troublesome mutt. He didn't bother moving as he was sneakily molested, and to most this would look as though the Nara was just being lazy, as usual, but it was actually a sneaky tactic. When the Inuzuka returned, he would be forced to climb back over the Nara, hopefully repeating his earlier action. Across the table, Shikamaru saw Chouji shoot him a knowing smirk before hiding behind his beer. Only the chubby brunet knew of his secret crush on his wild roommate.

When Kiba returned, he repeated his previous action much to the raven haired students' delight. This time a low moan of pleasure was coaxed from his roommate before he took his seat, passing a new drink to his other roommate.

The night wore on, and half an hour was spent in vain trying to cheer up the miserable Uzumaki, but not even the promise of the blonds' favourite food drew him out of his funk. They tried Sasuke bashing, which only served to upset the blond more. They tried playing a drinking game, but the increased buzz only caused the tan blond man to become more emotional. Desperate to make Naruto's night enjoyable, and salvage the evening, Sai finally made a suggestion.

"Hey dickless," the pale artist said, a fake smile plastered across his face. "Why don't you just get completely hammered? I read once that people drink to forget. Maybe that's what you need… to forget Sasuke tonight. If you're drunk, you won't think about it, and you'll act like the moron you are, and have a good time instead of dragging us all down with you."

A hand smacked the dark haired artist upside the head. "Way to be sensitive Sai," Ino scolded.

"That doesn't seem like a good idea," Shikamaru added, trying to be the voice of reason. More often than not, it was his job, not that any of them listened. "Have you even eaten anything Naruto?"

Scratching his stubbled chin, Naruto thought back over the course of the day. He'd been in a good mood in the morning until Sasuke had cancelled. Everything seemed to have gone downhill from there, including his appetite. "Well, not since I ate an early lunch, but I'll be fine. I have an amazing tolerance," the blond tried to justify.

"Come on Shikamaru," Kiba butted in. "He's a big boy, he can take care of himself."

"I just don't want to deal with Uchiha if something happens to him," the raven muttered. "Think about it Naruto, would he want you to do this?"

Naruto frowned. "He'd want me to have a good time without him," the Uzumaki defended.

Despite Shikamaru's words of caution, five shots were ordered and downed by the all too willing Naruto. Unfortunately, that's the last he remembered of the evening.

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><p><em><strong>11:42 Saturday Morning<br>**_

Naruto woke up to the sun streaming through his window. He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, his head only mildly throbbing from the bright light of late morning. He was one of the lucky few that was never all that bothered with a hangover. In fact, he'd never had a debilitating hangover once in his twenty one years of life.

With a large satisfying stretch, he surveyed his room, trying to remember how he had ended up home last night, and in his own bed to boot. The couch was usually where he woke up after a long night. Sadly, he drew a blank, and not for the first time, was furious with himself for not listening to his logical roommate. The last memory he could recall was taking the five shots Sai had offered.

He noticed a small orange ball of fur curled up at the end of his bed. His eyes widened in surprise upon realizing the ball of fluff was breathing. Leaning forward, he discovered the mysterious animal was a kitten, and a cute one at that. It purred contentedly, nuzzling his hand as he scratched the fluff ball behind the ears.

Naruto chuckled with delight. He'd always wanted a kitten, but he wasn't sure where the little munchkin had come from. "You're such a little cutie," Naruto cooed. "Where did you come from, eh?" He grinned, thinking maybe the night before wasn't all bad.

Suddenly, a lump on the right side of his bed moaned, and shifted. Naruto froze in shock. Mystery number two had just presented itself.

Eyes wide, heart pounding, Naruto jumped from the bed and fled his room, leaving the purring kitten blinking sleepily behind him. Whatever happened last night that he didn't remember, but apparently it ended with him bringing someone home, and that was a first. Naruto had never picked someone up at a bar before.

He tore down the hall of the three bedroom apartment, skidding into the living room to find the small group of his friends from the night before sitting around with coffee with pancakes. Tradition was, after a night of drinking everyone came over for Kiba's famous chocolate chip pancakes, even those who hadn't gone out.

"What the hell happened last night?" he cried hoarsely, hands flying up to his hair, fingers tangling tightly in the messy blond spikes. "I don't remember anything. How did I even get home?" He looked frantically around the room, his eyes clearly telling everyone present he was panicking.

"We can answer that," Ino and Sakura chimed from the love seat across from him.

"Sit down Naruto," Kiba practically commanded, worried his friend was going to begin hyperventilating any minute.

"I told you it was a bad idea," Shikamaru gloated from his place lying on the couch, his head in Kiba's lap.

Sai blinked in confusion, unable to wrap his head around the Uzumaki's panic. Naruto had gotten exactly what he'd wanted. "But it served its purpose," Sai stated. "He stopped being a whiny, dickless bitch over Sasuke ditching him and had fun." He ducked the remote flying at his head.

Moving over to the couch that his two roommates were occupying, Naruto picked up Shikamaru's legs and sunk into the couch, dropping the lazy man's legs across his lap. "Great, I'd love for you to fill in the blanks, because the last thing I remember was everyone cheering as I did five shots, then nothing."

"Right, well, after the shots..." Ino paused, looking at her best friend for help.

"Well, you kind of went crazy Naruto," the pinkette finished for her.

"Crazy?" the blond repeated in confusion. "Crazy how?"

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><p><strong>Well, what do you think? Should I continue?<strong>

**Feel free to let me know if there are any funny situations you want to see Naruto get into.**

**Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**The response I received was overwhelming. Thank you so much everyone. I have written a new chapter by your request. This has been beta'd by moodysavage, so thank you to her. Please let me know what you think, and any ideas you may have. I've gotten a few good ones, so hopefully you'll see that soon.**

**For those reading This is Not a Game, new chapter next week (I hope, I'm still struggling to write anything) I also have a few gift fics in the works of various pairings including ones out of my norm like Kiba and Sasuke or Gaara and Neji.**

**Stay tuned!**

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><p><strong>8:05 Friday Night<br>**

Five shots were downed in less than a minute. Hands banged on the table, cheering the blond on as he slammed back each glass. When the last shot was finally set upside down on the table, Naruto threw his hands in the air and yelled in celebration. The table cheered, everyone but Shikamaru that is.

From his place at the edge of the booth, Shikamaru watched on, sighing heavily as his roommate drunk himself into sweet oblivion. There was no possible chance Naruto would remember the remainder of his evening. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Shikamaru shook his head, already seeing that the night would not end well.

In the past, Naruto had only drunk enough to become completely wasted once before. It was back when they were still high school seniors at the final party of the year, and thankfully Sasuke had been there to keep the hyperactive teen in check. Without the Uchiha to keep Naruto under control, the world was about to see a completely new side of Uzumaki Naruto.

"I need to call Sasuke!" the blond student suddenly shouted, pulling out his phone. He dialed the familiar number, grinning like an idiot. "He's such a jerk and I should tell him that. Why would he ditch me?" he asked his friends. His smile fell as he waited for the raven to answer. "I miss him."

"You tell him Naruto!" Kiba hollered, much louder than he needed to.

Shikamaru leaned forward on his elbow, face buried in his hand. "This is really not a good idea," he mumbled into his hands.

"Lighten up Shika," Kiba said, throwing his arm around Shikamaru's shoulders. "It's all in good fun and Naruto really needs to cut loose for once." He wanted to see Naruto relax. Seeing a moping Naruto was hard to deal with, especially with the large blue eyes that made your chest constrict uncomfortably.

On the other side of town, Fatlip filled the back of a limo heading to the Sharingan spring formal. Uchiha Sasuke smiled as he heard his best friends' ringtone playing from his pocket. He pulled the vibrating phone out, smirking at the ridiculous photo the blond had set for his ID. "Naruto," he greeted. The uncharacteristic smile on his face made his brother raise a manicured eyebrow at him.

"Sasuke," the blond whined into the phone. "You're a bastard. How could you do this to me? Do you have any idea how much I was looking forward to tonight? We haven't seen each other in over a month."

The Uchiha sighed heavily, his smile slipping. "I'm sorry Naru," he apologized. Naruto was one of the few people privy to hearing those words come from his mouth. "You know Itachi can be an even bigger bastard than me," he said, shooting an annoyed glare at his older brother. Itachi only nodded enthusiastically, proud of his role as tormentor in his brothers' life. "If I had the choice between going to a stupid high society party and hanging out with you, I'd choose you every time. I hate these parties, you know that."

"I know," Naruto mumbled. "I just wish you were here."

There was a long pause, people on both ends watching the two curiously.

"You're my best friend Sasu," the blond finally said, breaking the quiet. "You are the whole world to me. You've always been there for me no matter what. Even when I didn't want your help, you were there, and I'm thankful for that. You support me, no matter what, even when you think I'm being a complete moron."

"That's most of the time, Naru," Sasuke snorted, effectively breaking the tension.

"Shut up, bastard," Naruto snapped, though the raven could tell he was laughing. "I mean it though," he added, his voice becoming soft and serious again. "Thanks man. I really wish we had been able to spend time together tonight."

"Me to, idiot. Enough of this sentimental crap, that's not you."

Suddenly the drunken blonds' demeanor changed entirely. "Why does Kakashi wear a mask all the time?" he asked suddenly, his tone serious. "And why do they call it an orange? Seriously, whose idea was it to name a fruit after a colour? How unoriginal is that?"

Itachi was biting his lower lip in a vain attempt not to laugh at the look of utter confusion on his little brothers' face as the youngest Uchiha listened to his best friend drunkenly chatter away on the phone. Leaning over, he deftly snatched the phone from Sasuke and switched on the speakerphone. The back of the limo was immediately filled with the sound of the bubbly blond slurring away.

"What about the caramilk bar? Do you remember all those commercials about how they get the caramel in the caramilk bar, but you never do find out how 'cause whoever had the secret was always taken out. So how do they do it? And another thing, why can't I have a cat? I've always wanted a cat, so why can't I have one?"

"Maybe someday my otouto will buy you one," Itachi said, successfully stopping the blonds' senseless rant.

"Itachi!" Naruto yelled happily. There was a loud clatter. Sasuke assumed Naruto had almost dropped his phone when he went to throw his hands up. A typical move for the blond student. "Where did you come from?"

Itachi smirked at his pouting brother. Sasuke was a selfish individual who liked to keep Naruto to himself. "You're on speaker phone sunshine," the elder cooed. He enjoyed flustering his little brother every opportunity he could, a difficult feat unless you knew the younger raven extremely well.

"Really, oh wow!" the drunken blond exclaimed. "Hey Itachi, you're awesome, you know that? So is Sasuke, but you're like the older brother I never had. Always there to help me, and you used to beat up bullies when I was a kid, like that time with Mizuki. I wish you could be my real brother; that would be the best thing ever!"

A roguish smirk spread over Itachi's handsome face as he found himself unable to resist embarrassing his brother further. "Maybe someday I will be," he threw out there before Sasuke had time to stop him.

Onyx eyes widened in horror as the words flowed from Itachi's mouth. Sasuke fumbled for the phone, wrestling it from his older brothers' evil clutches. "Uh... Naru," he gasped out, finally ripping the phone from Itachi's grip. "I gotta go," he rushed out. "Talk to you tomorrow, bye" He ended the call, safely stowing the phone in his pocket while glaring at the overly innocent looking man across from him. "I can't believe you said that," he hissed. The last thing he needed was Naruto hearing the forbidden feelings he held for him, feelings he could never act on and threaten their friendship. The chance of losing Naruto was too painful to even think of.

Dark eyes rolled in exasperation. "It's about time someone said something," Itachi said. He wanted to see his brother happy. The only person to ever break down the wall Sasuke had created around himself was Naruto, and he would be damned if he didn't push them together.

When Naruto finally hung up the phone, the table was quiet. During the time they had all known Naruto and Sasuke, they had never heard either talk that way about their best friend. It was common knowledge that the two were close despite the many epic fights. Whole classrooms had been demolished when they clashed in high school, and now that they were older, the destruction only grew. It wasn't uncommon to see them trading blows one second, only to calmly settle on a couch watching a movie only a few moments later. The group of friends were only just now seeing for themselves the depth of the bond between the childhood friends, and it was humbling.

A pale hand snatched the phone from Naruto's hands before it could be stowed away again. "You'll get this back in the morning, Naruto," Shikamaru said, slipping the phone into his jacket pocket. "You of all people don't need to make an even bigger fool of yourself."

Conversation once again picked up. Naruto was lively, keeping up with several discussions, and for the first time that night, smiling.

It wasn't long before Kiba was slipping Naruto his phone back having lifted it from Shikamaru's pocket. While his roommate might kill him for it later, he figured Naruto was much more entertaining when under the influence, and passing up the chance to watch him drunk dial Sasuke was out of the question.

Naruto shared a not so inconspicuous wink with his brunet roommate, thanking him for returning his property. On the other side of the laughing Kiba, Shikamaru groaned in frustration. He didn't want to babysit an intoxicated blond.

"Let's dance!" Sakura suddenly shouted, sick of sitting around talking. She had come out to have fun, and that was what she was going to do.

With the aid of Ino, the two girls managed to push the others out of the booth, and onto the dance floor. Within minutes, Chouji and Shikamaru were back in the booth, though that wasn't a surprise. Ino and Sakura didn't even bother trying to drag them out onto the floor again. The first time had been a miracle.

Dancing in the middle of the room with people gathered around, Naruto was the center of attention. All eyes were on him as he bounced around singing along, and grinning like crazy. He switched partners every few minutes. His energy and enthusiasm were infectious. He soon found himself wedged between two girls, their bodies grinding together to the pounding beat, but it didn't feel right to him. The girls were hot, and any other night he would have been all over them, trying to pick them up even, but tonight it didn't settle well with him. He pulled out his phone, deciding to call Sasuke again. He didn't know why , but he knew it would make him feel better.

Just as the call button was hit, the song changed and Naruto's blue eye light up. "I love this song," he shouted, breaking away from the two bodies pressed up against him. He could vaguely hear them protesting, but the music called to him. Pushing through the crowd, he jumped up on the stage, forgetting his phone was already dialing Sasuke.

"You may want to put that on vibrate, otouto," Itachi said as Sasuke's phone rang again, the familiar song filling the back seat. "I'm not sure our cliental would appreciate the vocal stylings of Sum 41."

Thinking his friend had forgotten to tell him something, Sasuke answered the phone, but instead of being greeted by an over exuberant blond, music blasted through the speaker. He pulled it away from his ringing ear to stare at the device in confusion. Lowering the volume, he pressed it to his ear once again.

Itachi watched with mild curiosity as his little brothers dark eyes slowly widened in awe. He briefly thought over the possibilities of what the idiotic blond could be saying to incite such a response from Sasuke.

Naruto was singing into the phone. The words hit Sasuke like a freight train, stirring emotions deep inside that he didn't want to feel.

"_Another day, is going by, I'm thinkin' about you all the time," _Naruto sang over the phone. Sasuke felt his chest constrict. "_But you're out there, and I'm here waiting And I, wrote this letter, in my head, cuz' so many things were left unsaid. But now you're gone, and I can't think straight.."_

Sasuke could hear the crowd in the background, cheering his best friend on. If he listened carefully, he could pick out the distinct timbre of Kiba egging Naruto to let loose. He groaned. The night was only going to go downhill. As if he didn't already feel bad enough, hearing Naruto sing made his chest ache with guilt.

Naruto was on the small stage, cell phone in hand as if he were dancing in front of the mirror with a hairbrush for a mic. "_This could be, the one last chance, to make you understand, yeah"._ He bounced around onstage, pumping up the crowd, completely unaware the phone in hand was his heart out, he thought of all the times Sasuke had dragged him away before he could do something stupid. Tonight was going to be different.

"_I'd do anything," _he sang directly into his phone, his words having a devastating effect on a member of his audience he didn't even know he had. "_Just to hold you in my arms. To try to make you laugh, somehow I can't put you in the past. I'd do anything, just to fall asleep with you…" _The drunken vocals cut off suddenly in a surprised yelp. Naruto's foot slid off the edge of the stage, and his arms windmilled, trying to find his balance but failing to find anything solid to grasp. Tumbling over the side of the stage, he found himself in Kiba and Sai's arms, while they laughed at his idiocy, but prevented him from making contact with the hardwood floor of the pub.

"Naruto!" Sasuke growled into the phone, but it was no use. The line had gone dead, and he was left with no answers to his friends' strange behaviour. Frowning in confusion, he tucked the phone back into his pocket after setting it to vibrate only. "He's drunk," he muttered to himself. "Shikamaru should have known better. He knows what happened last time."

"You mean the night that everything that could possibly be in a stereotypical teenage movie actually happened," Itachi asked with a straight face. He remembered it well, having helped wrestle a rather violent Naruto into the backseat of his Camaro at four in the morning after someone insulted his and Sasuke's mother. "Though I believe that night of mayhem lacked a fiery explosion."

Sasuke snorted. "No, that happened. What was missing was one of us getting laid." One thing the younger Uchiha was grateful for. Ignoring his brothers' chuckle of amusement, he looked out the window, wishing he could just skip the entire ordeal and spend the night with his idiot like he'd promised. "You owe me for this Itachi," he mumbled, eyes still firmly fixed on the city passing by.

With the aid of his friends, Naruto righted himself, brushing off nonexistent dirt. Though the song was still playing the bar had gone quiet. Pumping his fists into the air, phone still in hand but disconnected, he let out a roar. "I'm okay!" The crowded erupted into cheers and laughter. Naruto happily thanked his friends and bounced off, completely forgetting he was going to call Sasuke.

"We're going home," Sakura called to the group of friends. "While exams may be done, I have an internship starting tomorrow, and Ino promised to help in her families shop."

Both girls weaved through the swaying bodies, hugging each one of their friends, stopping back at their booth to grab their purses and jackets. A hand on her arm stopped Ino as she went to leave. Turning, she found herself face to face with Shikamaru.

Brow furrowed, Shikamaru cleared his throat. "Take him home please," he asked. "Make sure he gets home and to bed. He can't stay here like this."

Following her childhood friends line of sight, Ino found Naruto arm wrestling one of the other usual patrons of the bar. "Yeah," she agreed. "Maybe we should. I still remember senior year when the BBQ blew up, and that was with Sasuke there to balance him out." Giving a quick reassuring pat, she snagged Sakura and nodded towards the blond celebrating after his victory.

Naruto was in the middle of showing off, flexing his biceps and kissing the rippling muscles when he found himself accosted by his two female friends. Arms looped around each muscular bicep, Naruto was dragged from the crowd, his audience groaning behind him. He protested wildly, but the two girls didn't let up.

Pulling the halfheartedly struggling blond student across the street and through the front doors of his apartment building, the death grip was finally loosened. Ino punched the up button for the elevator.

"What the hell guys!" Naruto exclaimed. "I was having fun, so what's the big idea? Wasn't that the point?" Everyone had told him to let go and relax, and now they were forcing him to go home. It didn't add up in his mind. "Oh I get it," he said slyly, putting an arm around each of their shoulders. "You wanna piece of the Uzumaki, hm? Well I think I can accommodate." Simultaneously, two hands slapped him across his scarred cheeks, leaving the tan skin red.

The elevator doors chimed open. "Get in," Sakura ordered, shoving her blond friend into the small lift. She didn't have any patience for his stupidity at the moment. All she wanted to do after a night of dancing was go home and climb into bed, not babysit.

Fine," he grumbled under his breath, rubbing his sore face.

The trip up was silent. Naruto fidgeted, ignoring the annoyed glares from the other two occupants of the cramped lift. He stumbled out once they reached his floor, grateful to get away from the stifling hostility. Even drunk he could tell they were pissed.

Herding their intoxicated friend into his bedroom, both Ino and Sakura stood in front of the door, arms crossed over their flats chests, blocking the only exit. "Alright Naruto, get in bed," Ino ordered.

"It's only nine," he whined, childishly pouting and stomping his foot.

"Just get in!"

Not pleased to be forced to bed at such an early hour, Naruto reluctantly began pulling back the blankets, taking his sweet time.

Sakura sighed in frustration. "Hurry up, we don't have all day." She smirked at the resulting squeak at her threatening tone.

Once the sheets were pulled up around him, Naruto patted the empty space on either side of his body. "Care to join me ladies?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows seductively. The only answer he received was the door slamming behind them. "A simple no would have sufficed you know!" he called after them. The front door slammed seconds later signalling their departure from the small apartment.

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><p><strong>11:49 Saturday Morning<br>**

The facts didn't add up. "That's it? That's all that happened?" Naruto said in surprise. The blue eyes were narrow, brow furrowed in concentration. Either they weren't telling him the truth, or something happened after they left.

"Don't hurt yourself blondie," Kiba teased, watching his friend trying to piece together his evening. He yelped more in surprise than pain when a hand connected with the back of his head, nearly causing him to spill his breakfast on the dozing Shikamaru. To his right, Naruto was snickering to himself.

Hiding a giggle behind her hand, Sakura nodded, agreeing with her roommate. "Ino and I went home afterwards, and that was that." Shovelling the last of her breakfast down, she leaned forward and set her plate on the table, Ino's following shortly after.

The room was quiet, only the sound of chewing filling the empty space. "Was I alone when you put me to bed?" Naruto finally asked, breaking the silence while everyone else ate.

Ino blinked in surprise, sharing a confused look with Sakura. "Yeah, why?"

Scratching the back of his head nervously, Naruto looked down at his lap, unsure of how to tell them the news. He could feel all eyes on him, waiting for his response. "Then why did I wake up with a warm body beside me?" he finally blurted out, unable to meet their gaze.

A stunned silence fell over the occupants of the room. The clatter of Kiba dropping his fork seemed to jar them out of their thoughts.

"You what?" Sakura practically shrieked, green eyes wide. Her hand came up, clapping over her mouth.

Shikamaru sat up, anticipating Kiba springing from the couch, and there was a mad dash for the bedroom. Only Shikamaru remained where he was with Naruto, listening to the hushed yells as the group of friends stampeded down the hall, pushing and shoving in an attempt to reach the room first.

Sai's hand closed around the door handle first. Everyone fell silent, the tension high as if waiting for the unveiling of a treasured artifact. The door was pushed open to reveal a lump in the bed, and a small orange kitten sitting at the foot cleaning itself. There was a collective gasp as the mysterious person moved, groaning as they better situated themselves on the mattress.

Regaining her common decency, Sakura slapped Sai's hand from the handle and shut the door as silently as possible. Ino helped her usher the stunned group back down the hall and into the living room once again.

"Well?" Naruto said once his friends were once again back in their places. "Anyone got some answers for me, cause I'd love to hear them." His mind was still reeling. This wasn't something he'd done before, and he didn't even want to know what Sasuke's response would be when he showed up later like promised. It could go one of two ways. An angry outburst where he was called a moron more than usual, or Sasuke would find the whole situation hilarious and never let him live it down.

"Well, after they took you home, you came back to the bar," Chouji suddenly said. The rest of the room nodded.

"He did?" Ino and Sakura chimed in chorus.

"I did?"

Kiba scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, we'll get to that, but is anyone else wondering where the kitten came from?"

"Yes!"

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><p><strong>Alright, I'll be honest, I'm still not a hundred percent sold on this story. So honest feedback on if I should continue.<strong>

**Review!**


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